Chapter 21:
The bonfire crackled fiercely in the cold wind, its light casting a mysterious and bewitching glow on Melisandre's heart-shaped face. She stared deep into the flames, her red eyes reflecting the popping firewood.
She was searching for answers.
She was searching for the name from the prophecy — Azor Ahai.
The flames had told her that the name pointed to Stannis on Dragonstone. But tonight, the red comet streaking across the sky had shaken her deeply.
"The night is dark and full of terrors…"
A deep, magnetic voice, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression, broke her prayer.
Melisandre whipped around.
Victor Pompey, draped in a black fox-fur cloak, slowly emerged from the darkness. He brought no guards — only himself.
Yet the presence he exuded felt as if an entire army marched behind him.
"Fear?"
Melisandre slightly raised her chin, the ruby necklace at her throat gleaming faintly. "The servants of the Lord of Light do not know fear. I only see… chaos. Baron Pompey, your fate appears as mist in the flames. You were not supposed to be here."
"Flames can lie too, my lady."
Victor walked right up to the bonfire. Unlike ordinary people who kept a respectful distance, he extended his hand until his palm was almost touching the flames.
"You say Stannis is the savior? The reborn hero?"
Victor watched the dancing flames at his fingertips and let out a scoff. "That bald man who can't even satisfy his own wife? That man whose personality is like cold, brittle iron — hard but snaps easily?"
"Silence!"
A flash of anger appeared in Melisandre's eyes. "King Stannis is the one chosen by the Lord of Light! He will draw 'Lightbringer' and banish the long night!"
"Lightbringer?"
Victor shook his head. "Just a broken sword stuck in the sand and heated red. Even street magicians can perform that trick."
He suddenly turned and stepped closer to Melisandre.
That powerful masculine aura, mixed with a high temperature that made her heart race, washed over her.
"True light does not need to borrow firewood."
"True light comes from here."
Victor pointed at his own chest.
The next second, his mind moved.
[System Skill Activated: Supreme Solar Flame!] [Special Effect: Simulates stellar fusion light and shadow effects, with high-temperature force field.]
Boom!
Under Melisandre's shocked gaze, Victor's pupils instantly turned a pure, brilliant gold!
Immediately after, a visible wave of pale blue heat erupted from his body. It wasn't ordinary red flame — it was higher-temperature, purer, closer to the essence of energy!
The snow on the ground instantly sublimated into white mist.
And the originally roaring bonfire, in the face of this domineering blue radiance, dimmed like a vassal before its king, trembling in fear!
"What… what is this…"
Melisandre involuntarily took a step back. She felt the magic within her body cheering and trembling, as if it had found its true source.
By the Lord of Light! This purity… even the High Priest of Asshai could not achieve it!
"Are you still staring at that smoky firewood?"
Victor extended his hand, palm up.
Snap!
A cluster of幽 blue flame ignited in his palm without any fuel (in reality, it was a high-purity solid fuel exchanged from the system, forced out with internal energy).
Though small, that heart-palpitating幽 blue flame seemed capable of burning through the soul.
"You're still looking at that bald man who can't even satisfy his wife?" Victor stared into Melisandre's now completely lost red eyes, his voice like a divine decree.
"Stannis is a false king. He is merely a candle in the night."
Victor gripped her wrist and pulled her closer until their noses almost touched.
"I am the rising sun."
"Look into my eyes, Melisandre."
"Will you still go to Dragonstone to serve that doomed man? Or…"
Victor took her hand and transferred the "non-burning" (temperature-controlled) blue flame to her palm. "…will you stay and witness the true end of the long night?"
Melisandre's breathing grew rapid.
Her faith, her pride — in this moment, they were shattered by Victor's extremely direct and violent "miracle."
She trembled as she reached out and touched Victor's chest.
It was scalding.
It was a life force like that of a dragon.
"You…" Melisandre's voice was dry. "You also carry the blood of ancient Valyria? Are you a Targaryen bastard?"
"Bloodline doesn't matter."
Victor grabbed her wrist in return and pulled her even closer. "What matters is power. You can give me shadow assassins, and I… can give you 'king's blood' a hundred times stronger than Stannis."
"We can make a deal."
Victor whispered in her ear, his hot breath brushing against her red hair. "Tonight, come to my room. Personally verify… how fierce my flame truly is."
Melisandre's body stiffened.
As a priestess, she had served many men, but no one had ever dared to seduce her so blatantly — or even preach to her in return.
Yet in this man, she truly saw the possibility of changing the world.
After a long silence.
The red light in her eyes flickered several times before finally turning into a meaningful, seductive smile.
"Your flame is indeed very tempting, Lord Pompey."
Melisandre withdrew her hand, her fingertips brushing across Victor's throat. "But the will of the Lord of Light is not only about power.
I need to observe."
"I will go with you. But not as a servant — as a… witness."
"If you are false…" Her eyes turned cold. "I will personally burn you to ashes."
"You will fall in love with this flame."
Victor smiled confidently.
It was done.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully intercepting core character: Melisandre!] [Current Status: Half-believing, Half-doubting (Favorability 40/100).] [Obtained Special Buff: Gaze of the Lord of Light (50% resistance to fire damage).] [Quest Updated: Take her away from Harrenhal and head to the heart of the Riverlands.]
…
The next morning.
When Tywin Lannister learned that the strange red priestess had left with Victor's group, the old lion merely frowned.
"Just a mad woman who performs tricks," Tywin snorted coldly. "As long as the grain Pompey gave is real, let him take her."
However, what Tywin didn't know was that he had not only let go of a priestess.
He had also released a strategic nuclear weapon capable of assassinating enemy commanders through "childbirth."
The convoy left Harrenhal and headed north.
Inside the carriage.
Victor sat with Arya on his left — who was diligently wiping "Needle" — and Melisandre on his right, who was meditating with her eyes closed.
Outside, the Hound drove the carriage while the Teutonic Knights cleared the way.
This team's configuration was nothing short of luxurious.
"Where are we going, boss?" the Hound shouted from outside. "This road doesn't lead back to King's Landing."
"We're not going back to King's Landing."
Victor lifted the curtain and looked toward the distant rushing waters of the Trident River.
"Robb Stark is being crowned King in the North at Riverrun."
"We're going to attend his coronation."
Arya's head snapped up, her eyes lighting up. "To see Robb? Really?"
"Really."
Victor ruffled her hair, but a sly glint flashed in his eyes.
"Not only are we going to see him — we're also going to give him a big gift."
"A gift that will force him… to 'sell' his sister to me."
The Young Wolf Robb Stark.
The tragic hero who won every battle but lost the entire war.
The lovesick fool who broke his betrothal for an unknown young nurse.
Victor smiled.
Since he was here, that famous "Red Wedding" would not happen.
Because… the "toll" that House Frey demanded, House Pompey was going to intercept it!
"System, pull up the Frey family tree."
"I want to see how many daughters that old goat Walder Frey still can't marry off."
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